You may also like to know that your fundraising activities have funded the 2010 and 2011 box packing initiative, which has always been our stated primary mission. The scheme was so well received by the boy’s and girl’s that the MoD requested that the initiative be extended to encompass Afghanistan and Iraq. This equates to a total of 24,000 parcels of home comfort!

We would like to take this opportunity to reiterate why the charity was formed, which was summarised by a comment on our Facebook page yesterday evening. This charity was launched by mothers of fallen soldiers, and created to support our serving forces in theatre, the families of the fallen and our returning wounded. The charity is not about one single person it is about making a difference to our joint armed forces, a point of fact that has been recognised at the highest level of government.

Over the last 48 hours there has been much speculation regarding our position towards Ride of Respect – we hope that we will be able to clear things up by posting this announcement.

Firstly, it is important for us to acknowledge the overwhelming support that we have received from the biking community over the last fourteen months. It has been truly humbling to witness such a show of selfless solidarity with our troops. This support cannot and will never go unappreciated.

We also acknowledge the huge efforts that so many people have made to help make both this and last year’s rides the successes they were. This includes, among many others, the entire Ride of Respect team. Without these individuals we would not have been able to raise such staggering amounts for our troops, their families and loved ones.

Whilst recognising the above efforts, we would like to explain our rationale behind requesting that our name and logo be removed from the Ride of Respect web site. This was not a decision which we arrived at lightly.

As a registered charity, we must ensure that we fulfill all of our legal obligations and duties. We are very conscious that this year we have received an ever increasing number of complaints regarding the use of the money raised from Ride of Respect merchandise sales. We have always directed such queries to the “Ride Of Respect” as they have been obliged to handle such queries. In response to those queries, Ride of Respect have informed us that either, items were being sold at cost price and therefore there was no money raised or that any money raised would pay for the Ride of Respect’s various expenses. Unfortunately, this does not appear to have happened as is evident from our financial breakdown.

We have also been made aware in more recent times that money was being retained by the Ride of Respect in order to fund future projects.

Our very serious concern is that the Ride of Respect website itself uses phrases such as “ALL proceeds to Afghan Heroes”. We believe that phrases such as these are misleading as they might cause supporters to buy merchandise thinking that all of the proceeds are bound for Afghan Heroes, which is not the case.

As a charity, we must be very clear when raising funds from the public. In light of the above, we must insist that the boundaries between the Charity and Ride of Respect are clear and for this reason we have requested that our name and logo be removed from the Ride of Respect website.

We believe that everyone concerned with these endeavours only has the well-being and safety of our troops at heart, please, let’s all make this our primary focus. As such, this will be our final communication on this matter.

Thank you

Firstly, please accept our deep thanks and gratitude to all of you who turned out to make this such a wonderful event (again!) and for raising funds for our troops and their families. Afghan Heroes will be using your donations to continue our work over the coming year, including sending out comfort boxes to over 10,000 of  our troops serving overseas. Once again, a huge thank you to all the biking community, the organisers and to all who gave freely of their time and resources to make this such a fantastic event.

Here is the full break down for the event as of 02/05/11.

INCOME

EXPENDITURE

GRAND TOTAL RAISED £127,430.20

* note on Non-Registered Riders:
On the day of the ride a good number of riders arrived at Hulluvington without registering – these riders all made donations on the airfield and took part in the ride. At the time of writing we have not received these donations or details of numbers. Once the Ride of Respect organisers have provided us with these details we will post them here.

** note on regional rides:
We are still waiting on the figures/donations from one of the rides. We do not yet have the breakdown for each ride or how many riders/pillions took part. Once the Ride of Respect organisers have provided us with these details we will post them here.

*** note on gift aid:
Gift aid is reclaimed from HMRC for all donations that were eligible. As gift aid must be confirmed at time of donation, only the online donations can be included. Gift aid is claimed at the rate of 28%.

For more information on Nicole please visit her web site: www.nicolemcaleer.com

Last year over 10,000 boxes were delivered as a “thank you” to British service personnel in Afghanistan. This was so well received the Ministry of Defence has asked the charity, Afghan Heroes, to include surrounding areas and means the charity will be packing 13,500 boxes.

Ninety Army Cadets from Somerset are planning to camp out at the Bath & West Showground near Shepton Mallet over the weekend of March 5 and 6 to pack the boxes along with volunteers from the public.

Before that the charity need to find chewing gum, pens, hand sanitiser, lip balm, shower gel, toothpaste, small puzzle books, toothbrushes, cereal bars, LED torches and other treats for the troops.  Haribo have agreed to provide sweets for the second year but other donations are being sought.

Denise Harris, founder of Afghan Heroes, whose son Corporal Lee Scott lost his life while serving in Helmand Province in July 2009, said: “We had a fantastic reaction to the boxes last year. So many servicemen said how fantastic it was to know that people back home were thinking about them.

“We are changing the contents this year following feedback from troops on the front line. This year we will not be putting socks, DVDs or memory sticks but we have had requests for sporks – a combination of knife fork and spoon – and sun cream / insect repellent.

“Some items we will be buying with funds raised throughout the year but it would be good if anyone can supply us with 13,500 of a particular product for the boxes.”

The home comforts will be packed in specially-produced ammo-style boxes so have to be of specific sizes to fit in.

Said Denise Harris: “Many soldiers do not have family support and the boxes are particularly welcomed by them as they are the only thing they receive from home. Even Prince Harry told us how much getting little comforts from home meant to him while on the front line in Afghanistan.”

Once packed the boxes will be delivered to Afghanistan by the Ministry of Defence. Anyone with products to donate should contact Afghan Heroes by telephone 0844 5766771 or e-mail info@afghanheroes.org.uk

Following on from their successful cycle from John’O Groats to Land’s End this year which raised a substantial amount of money for Afghan Heroes, Exercise Rolling Rolling Road have complied a montage of photos from their travels which can be viewed by clicking on the photo opposite.

By ordering one of our ‘boxes’ – in the style of an ammo can – you will helping to provide our service personnel with essential home comforts. Inside each box will be the following:

Bic Pens
Puzzle Book
Haribo Sweets
Lynx Shower Gels
Lynx Roll On Deodorant 125ml
Colgate Tooth paste
Toothbrush
Neutrogena Lip Balm
Wrigley’s Chewing Gum
Tracker Cereal Bar
Cotton Socks
DVDs
Playing Cards
Antibacterial Hand Gel
Shaving Gel
Wrist Band
Memory Stick

Click here to order  

You will also be able to leave a message of support to let the recipient of the box know that people back home are thinking of them. Use the order notes section on the checkout page to leave your message. Please do not include any personal information or contact details as these messages will be omitted.

** PLEASE NOTE ** This box will be sent to a member of our armed services on your behalf – It will not be sent to you personally.

• To view the responses from troops from last year’s Armed Forces Day when the deliveries were made, click this link

Registrations for the Mother’s day 2011 Ride of Respect through Wootton Bassett are now open! Spaces are limited to 10,000 bikes so we recommend that you sign up early!

This ride pays tribute to the people of Wootton Bassett, RAF Lyneham and the men and women of our armed forces. All money raised will go to Afghan Heroes who help our service personnel directly on the front line; the families of those who have fallen and our returning service personnel who have witnessed these horrific losses of their fellow comrades.

This year’s event was fantastic – let’s see if we can make next year’s even better!

Over €12000 Euros was raised for Afghan Heroes!

Pictures of the Family Fun Day & also the 7 Signal Regiment Boxing Team 12 hour cycle event can be viewed below:

We are overwhelmed by the support the Bikers have shown us and we want to work together to ensure that we create a National Framework of regions, operated under one National organisation.

The aims are to raise awareness for the charity, promote social occasions, bike runs and a general ambience of biker camaraderie.  The framework is being assembled; the honorary national president will be Stitch.

Membership is priced at £35 per annum, as part of your initial membership you will receive a T-Shirt and Patch (pictured).  Each region will have the freedom to organise events and runs, with the intention of all regions congregating annually at the Thunder Rally.

As a member you will also be entitled to a 10% discount on all Afghan Heroes events, including the Thunder Rally.  Membership will run from 1st January – 31st December, and we are inviting membership now, to ensure that everybody has a chance to benefit for the Thunder Rally 2011, which will be held over the weekend 18/19/20th June 2011.

To get your membership pack click here or on the picture above.

We are now inviting membership and nominations for officials within each region.

(Further information regarding True Heroes MCC, including clothing and insurance concessions, will be announced in the coming weeks)